


Season's Greetings

by Althair



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-21
Updated: 2016-12-21
Packaged: 2018-09-10 20:59:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8939107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Althair/pseuds/Althair
Summary: After receiving a letter to Santa in the mail, Arthur decides he isn't going to be the one to destroy a child's belief in the existence of a particular man in a red suit with a white beard. However, he ends up being surprised by the outcome.





	

            Arthur was never really into Christmas. Now, that didn’t mean he entirely disliked the idea. No. He simply disliked the whole family get together thing. He wasn’t sure if it was how loud his family could get, how confusing they were, or the fact some of his family actually really, and he means really, hates him. Not that he could bring himself to entirely hate them in return, but the decision ended up being fairly simple in the end. The Englishman decided that he would rather spend Christmas alone.

            After awhile of trying to figure out how to tell his mother that he would not be coming this year for Christmas, considering the whole ‘sorry I’m sick’ thing seemed to be a horrid excuse- Even though he really did have a dreadful cold that, for some reason, he could not just shake off- Arthur decided to check the mail as a distraction, which is when he realized that now was the time that children were sending out Christmas cards to Santa. Even though, it was a little late to be trying to send the jolly old man a letter. Christmas was in two days. As the twenty-three year old sat down on the couch staring at the, not so neatly written, card. He reached a moral dilemma. It was entirely rude, not to mention illegal, to open another person’s mail.

            Luckily there was a return address, he could send it back to the owner and maybe they could try again. However, it didn’t seem right to send it back. Picturing the distraught expression on a child’s face as they saw their letter to Santa in the return mail was not something Arthur had really wanted to picture today, or really any other day. His soft spot was children, after all. He wanted one of his own, but he couldn’t produce one and adopting alone was not the easiest decision to make. The constant paranoia that something could go wrong was on his shoulders.

            Deciding that the bills and such could wait a moment longer, Arthur finally decided to open the card. Maybe the child would be asking for something simple that he could send them… However, after reading the letter, Arthur realized that he’d taken on a much larger task than originally intended. How on Earth was he going to send this child a friend?

            Slowly setting the card aside, Arthur decided to finish a few other tasks and let his mind wander around for a little while to see if he could somehow come up with a friend to send. After the bills were done, and the other mail, some of which was entirely unimportant, was sorted. He found his eyes drifting back to the card. This child wanted a friend, the very same thing he had wanted as a child. So, a friend they would receive.

            Now, any old store bought stuffed animal simply wouldn’t do. He had to make it himself with love, or it would be entirely meaningless. At least, that’s what his grandmother had told him. Any other time, the Englishman would have been up for the task, however, the problem that arose was that Arthur was sick. Which would possibly mean he could get the child sick.

            In the end, this did not deter him from his task. Arthur reasoned that he would simply have to make do. This child would be receiving a friend by Christmas even if he had to hack out a lung to accomplish the task.

            It took awhile, but he decided to make a teddy bear with green ribbon to wear around the neck as though it were a bowtie. The bear would also have button eyes, and, most importantly, would be soft to the touch. He’d learned as a child that this was the most comforting to him, and he wished to pass this on to his somewhat, although not entirely, anonymous sender. Truth be told, he couldn't read the name at the bottom of the card.

            However, after starting the new friend task, he realized he had enough fabric to make two equally unique bears, and decided that sending two friends would not hurt. Sewing itself was something Arthur found calming, and since he didn’t have work, he had the entire time to sew something to send to the child, or, now that he thought about it. It could be children. Either way there would be two bears, which he only hoped was enough.

            The task itself took a little longer than expected, since Arthur had to make a trip (or two) to the store to get some things he needed to make the bear. However, the bears were done by Christmas Eve. Which was mildly upsetting to the Englishman, he’d hoped to finish sooner. However, after checking the card, he realized he could simply walk the bears to the house. It was only a block or two away.

            So, Arthur slipped his shoes on and grabbed his coat, making sure the bears were wrapped in something shiny, but not too brightly colored. He didn’t know if there were sensitive eyes, but his own were, so the wrapping suited him. Either way, it was festive and caught the eye.

            Walking over to the house was a task that was a bit harder than expected. It was far too cold for someone to go outside. There was snow, and the wind was blowing. Not to mention Arthur still had that blasted cold. But he made it to the house and he was going to deliver those bears. Even if doing so meant getting a littler sicker. Arthur James Kirkland was not going to be a man to disappoint.

            Yet, Arthur found himself unable to knock, suddenly very nervous. What if he’d read the address wrong? Or he was interrupting something? The wait at the door was not long, as someone opened it up. Simply to reveal Mrs. Bonnefoy, which meant the children in the letter were her twins, Alfred and Matthew. A sheepish smile came across Arthur’s face.

            “Hello Mrs. Bonnefoy-” however Arthur was interrupted with a, “it’s Francine-” to which he nodded, still nervous, he could even feel his face heating up. Although, his nose was already red like Rudolph’s from being sick. “Y-yes, I know, it’s Arthur,” he mumbled, as though she didn’t know him, “I received a letter from your boys addressed to Santa... and I didn’t want to ruin Christmas, so I made them gifts.” He’d even written little notes in his finest print to make the bears seem as though they had personality.

            Francine didn’t seem to know what to say, however, her face lit up and she tried to usher Arthur into the house. Which, the male quietly refused to go, at first anyway. Excusing himself by saying that he didn’t want to interrupt at such a late hour. Even though seven at night wasn’t entirely the latest hour. And the two had been friends for a very long time now. It wasn’t even like they were strangers! How had Arthur not recognized the house address sooner?

            Despite his protests, he was dragged inside and made to give each of the boys their gift. Which, both Alfred and Matthew thanked him in the most excited manner, especially after he told them that Santa himself had sent him to deliver the gifts. They even invited him to stay for hot chocolate, which Arthur couldn’t refuse because there were apparently no exceptions to the ‘give a gift receive a gift’ rule, which seemed made up, but he played along.

            However, after hot chocolate he had to excuse himself. He couldn’t stay all night. This seemed to disappoint both Alfred and Matthew greatly, so they made him promise to come again later so that they could thank him after they’d opened their presents as well. Even Francine encouraged him to stay, giving him a kiss on the cheek to thank him for getting her boys something, even though she insisted that he really didn’t have to. And that’s how Arthur decided that maybe spending Christmas with, the right people, wasn’t that bad after all.


End file.
